Kornimate/medical-research-clean huggingface dataset:
evaluation of the effectiveness of virtual reality self-rehabilitation in the treatment of facial paralysis and synkinesis

Conditions: Peripheral Facial Palsy; Rehabilitation; Virtual Reality

Summary: peripheral facial palsy affects 15 to 40 people per 100,000 inhabitants and induces important functional and social repercussions. synkinesis is a frequent after-effect of facial palsy recovery, consisting of involuntary facial spasms that disturb the gestural harmony and can go as far as a painful hypertonic spasm. more than 55% of patients recovering from facial palsy will develop transient or permanent synkinesis. these facial hypertonias have two main causes: imperfect axonal regeneration, which is all the more important as the damage is proximal, and hyperexcitability of the facial nerve nucleus due to a lack of central control. management is therefore essential for the functional restoration of the face, especially since synkinesis do not evolve spontaneously. the main treatments are currently botulinum toxin injection, acting on the motor plate, and functional rehabilitation, consisting on local muscle relaxation and central motor control work. in recent years, therapies based on biofeedback and acting on central motor control have shown interesting results, and technological advances in virtual reality have made it possible to deepen this treatment in patients suffering from stroke, limb trauma or parkinson's disease. in this project, the investigators evaluate the contribution of virtual reality to the management of facial palsy, and hypothesize that self-rehabilitation using this technology will improve motor control of the skin muscles and reduce complications related to their hypertonia such as synkinesis.


Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * patient with recent onset peripheral facial palsy (≤ 12 months). * patient with peripheral facial palsy of grade ≥ iii on the house \& brackmann score * patient of legal age (≥ 18 years) * patient with appropriate information and informed consent exclusion criteria: * patient with central facial palsy * patient with peripheral facial palsy of \> 12 months onset * patient with peripheral facial palsy of grade \< iii house \& brackmann score * patient who has previously undergone palliative surgery * patient undergoing a botulinum toxin injection protocol * patients benefiting from enhanced protection, i.e. minors, persons deprived of their liberty by a judicial or administrative decision, persons staying in a health or social institution, adults under legal protection, pregnant or breast-feeding women and patients in emergency situations * patients who have not provided informed consent * patients with cognitive disorders that do not allow them to follow the proposed self-education protocol * blind or visually impaired patients (visual acuity of the better eye after correction ≤ 4/10)

Keywords: peripheral facial palsy rehabilitation virtual reality
loving-kindness meditation for posttraumatic stress disorder (ptsd)

Conditions: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Summary: a before and after study of veterans who took part in a 12-week loving-kindness meditation course as an adjunct to their usual care for posttraumatic stress disorder.


Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * posttraumatic stress disorder exclusion criteria: * psychosis * borderline personality disorder

Keywords: posttraumatic stress depression
physical exercise program in chronic chagas heart disease

Conditions: Chagas Disease; Chagas Cardiomyopathy

Summary: the aim of this investigation is to evaluate the impact of exercise in a cardiac rehabilitation program on functional capacity, clinical markers, quality of life and biomarkers in patients with chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy.

the present study consisted in a randomized clinical study conducted at the evandro chagas national institute of infectious disease (ini), located on rio de janeiro, brazil. ini is a national reference center for treatment and research in infectious diseases and tropical medicine in brazil, which follows a large cohort of patients with chagas disease, all of them diagnosed by two simultaneously positive serological tests (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and indirect immunofluorescence). patients included in the study are randomly divided in two groups: intervention and control groups. safety analysis will be performed by monitoring any symptoms presented during data collection and follow-up study. one of the potential risks that the patient may experience during the study is a noninvasive test that will be performed on a treadmill in a controlled environment, with the possibility of the appearance of symptoms such as fatigue, dyspnea, chest pain, dizziness, with minimal chances of occurring complications of difficult clinical control. except for the blood test and the cardiopulmonary exercise test, the other tests to be performed are non-invasive and do not bring any risk to the participant's health. will be collect 10 ml of blood which will be stored for up to five years for biomarker assessments. during the exercise sessions, patients will be clinically monitored for decompensation, need for hospitalization and suspend or end the participation on the study. all cases will be individually assessed to determine the reversibility of the clinical status. those cases will continue to be followed by the assistant staff, offering all the clinical support available in ini.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: (1) chagas disease diagnosis by serology; (2) chronic chagasic cardiomyopathy, with left ventricular ejection fraction \<45% or compensated heart failure (3) clinical stability in the last three months, (4) adherence to the ambulatory clinical treatment and (5) age above 18 years. exclusion criteria: (1) pregnancy, (2) neuromuscular limitations, (3) tobacco use, (4) evidence of nonchagasic heart disease, (5) systemic conditions that limits exercise practice or hemodynamic stress tests (6) unavailability to attend three times a week for a minimum of six months, (7) practitioners of regular exercise and (8) claustrophobia.

Keywords: physical activity cardiac rehabilitation
does administration of probiotics during infancy increase the caries risk of a child

Conditions: Dental Caries

Summary: aim: to examine caries occurrence in children who ten years ago received a mixture of probiotics during infancy. hypothesis: the administration of probiotics during infancy has no effect on future dental health.


Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * child participated in the probiotic milk intervention study in early 2000 * child lives now within 100 km from turku exclusion criteria: * child has a chronic illness affecting dental health * child lives now outside 100 km from turku

Keywords: probiotics caries oral flora
method of endogenous tsh stimulation in the follow-up of differentiated thyroid cancer

Conditions: Thyroid Cancer

Summary: the treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer (dct) includes surgery followed by radioiodine treatment. in the follow-up of patients it is necessary to induce tsh elevation to test for cancer recurrence. one of the options is to stop l-thyroxin replacement for several weeks. current pilot study aims to induce the necessary tsh elevation by decreasing the l-thyroxin dose. the main hypothesis is that necessary tsh stimulation will be achieved during 4-6 weeks in majority of patients.

the treatment of differentiated thyroid cancer (dct) includes surgery followed by radioiodine treatment. in the follow-up of patients it is necessary to induce tsh elevation for the measurement of thyreoglobulin and/or total body scanning. there are two principal methods to obtain tsh elevation: 1) injection of recombinant human tsh , and 2) to stop l-thyroxin replacement for several (3-4) weeks. as use of recombinant tsh is rather expensive, this method is not feasible in many countries. the problem with stopping l-thyroxin is development of severe hypothyroidism for several weeks with concomitant symptoms and signs. current pilot study aims to induce the necessary tsh elevation by decreasing the l-thyroxin dose. the main hypothesis is that necessary tsh stimulation will be achieved during 4-6 weeks in majority of patients with fixed dose of l-thyroxin. concomitantly, blood tests and symptoms and signs of hypothyroidism will be obtained to get information about possible deviations during treatment with low dose of thyroxin.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * differentiated thyroid cancer * treated by thyroidectomy and at least 1 ablation with 131-i \> 5 months ago * tsh \< 4 imu/l exclusion criteria: * pregnancy * known metastasis

Keywords: thyroid cancer
evaluation of blood glucose meter systems

Conditions: Diabetes

Summary: the purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of a bayer blood glucose monitoring system (bgms) and four additional blood glucose monitoring systems (bgms) from other manufacturers. all meter bg results were compared with plasma results obtained with a reference laboratory glucose method (ysi glucose analyzer).

the purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of a bayer blood glucose monitoring system (bgms) and four additional blood glucose monitoring systems (bgms) from other manufacturers. all meter bg results were compared with plasma results obtained with a reference laboratory glucose method (ysi glucose analyzer). performance of the five systems were evaluated across the glucose range of the bgmss using capillary blood. all testing and lancing were performed by study staff and some samples were tested from subject fingertips. additionally, some blood samples were glycolyzed to lower the glucose concentration levels and glucose solution was added to other samples to raise glucose concentration levels.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * males and females, 18 years of age or older * willing to complete all study procedures exclusion criteria: * blood borne infections like hepatitis or hiv or infections such as tuberculosis * hemophilia or any other bleeding disorder * pregnancy
estrogen pretreatment prior to gnrh antagonist protocol

Conditions: Infertility

Summary: the purpose of this study is to assess whether estrogen pre-treatment can allow retrieval of 2 additional oocytes in gnrh antagonist protocol.


Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * regular normo-ovulatory cycles (28 to 35 days) * age \< 38 years, * body mass index (bmi) between 18 and 30 * first or second ivf/icsi attempt exclusion criteria: * high basal levels of serum fsh or e2, * less than 5 follicles at the antral follicular count performed on day 3 of a spontaneous cycle, * history of high (\>20 oocytes) or low (\< 5 oocytes) ovarian response in a previous ivf attempt

Keywords: assisted reproductive treatment gnrh antagonist estrogen pre-treatment ovarian stimulation
18f-s16 pet/ct in healthy volunteers and patients with neurodegenerative dementia

Conditions: Neurodegenerative Dementia

Summary: this is an open-label dynamic whole-body pet/ct (positron emission tomography/computed tomography) study for investigation of radiation dosimetry, plasma pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, safety and diagnostic performance of 18f-s16 in healthy volunteers and patients with neurodegenerative dementia.

for interests in clinical translation of 18f-s16, an open-label dynamic whole-body pet/ct study was designed to investigate safety and diagnostic performance of 18f-s16 in patients with neurodegenerative dementia. a single dose of nearly 370 mbq 18f-s16 will be intravenously injected into healthy volunteers and patients with neurodegenerative dementia. visual and semiquantitative method will be used to assess the pet/ct images. changes of blood pressure, pulse, respiration, temperature, routine blood and urine tests, serum alanine aminotransferase, albumin, and creatinine, and any adverse events will be collected from the subjects. adverse events will also be observed in the subjects.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: 1. patients with neurodegenerative dementia 2. males and females, ≥40 years old 3. they rely on a combination of neurologic examination and neuropsychological assessment with a battery of tests. clinical diagnosis was established by sophisticated neurologists. exclusion criteria: 1. females planning to bear a child recently or with childbearing potential 2. renal function: serum creatinine \>3.0 mg/dl (270 μm/l) 3. liver function: any hepatic enzyme level more than 5 times upper limit of normal. 4. known severe allergy or hypersensitivity to iv radiographic contrast. 5. patients not able to enter the bore of the pet/ct scanner. 6. inability to lie still for the entire imaging time because of cough, pain, etc. 7. inability to complete the needed examinations due to severe claustrophobia, radiation phobia, etc. 8. concurrent severe and/or uncontrolled and/or unstable other medical disease that, in the opinion of the investigator, may significantly interfere with study compliance.

Keywords: 18f-s16 neurodegenerative dementia pet/ct
effect of a probiotic on seasonal allergic rhinitis symptoms

Conditions: Seasonal Allergic Rhinitis

Summary: the purpose of the current study is to evaluate the efficacy of administering a probiotic in adult human subjects suffering from allergic rhinitis during seasonal grass pollen exposure.

adult subjects with documented seasonal allergic rhinitis (sar) to grass pollen will be assigned to placebo or probiotic groups and take either placebo or probiotic dietary intervention for 8 weeks during the grass pollen allergy season. total nasal symptom score (tnss) will be compared over 8 weeks between the two treatment groups.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * adults aged 18 to 65 years of age at the time of enrolment. * established seasonal allergic rhinitis (clinical history of rhinorrhea, congestion, sneezing, pruritis \>2 years) * positive skin prick test (spt)to grass pollen (gp). * presence of specific ige to grass pollen (gp) * have a body mass index in the range 19-32 kg/m2 * have signed the consent form * have been instructed during screening and agreed to not take any probiotic containing products outside the study for the study period exclusion criteria: * subjects currently under treatment with antibiotics or undergoing allergen immunotherapy at the time of enrolment * pregnancy * vasomotor rhinitis, nasal cavity disorders (nasal polyps), ear infections otitis media). * other chronic diseases (e.g. gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, infections) * subjects diagnosed with asthma * subjects currently participating in another interventional clinical trial or having participated in another clinical trial in the last 2 months * subjects on chronic use of systemic corticosteroids prior to randomization

Keywords: grass pollen allergic rhinitis tnss minirqlq
right ventricular function during exercise in highlanders/lowlanders

Conditions: High Altitude Pulmonary Hypertension

Summary: the purpose of the current study is to evaluate the right ventricular function during graded cycling on an ergometer by transthoracic echocardiography in kyrgyz highlanders with high altitude pulmonary hypertension (haph) by performing a cross-sectional case-control study.


Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * high altitude pulmonary hypertension confirmed by clinical presentation and mean pulmonary artery pressure \>30 mmhg measured by echocardiography at altitude of residence. * healthy subjects (high altitude controls) * both genders * age \>16 y * kyrgyz ethnicity * born, raised and currently living at \>2500 m * healthy subjects currently living at \<1000 m (low altitude controls) exclusion criteria: * pulmonary hypertension from other causes, in particular from left ventricular failure as judged clinically and by echocardiography * excessive erythrocytosis * other coexistent disorders that may interfere with the cardio-respiratory system and sleep * regular use of medication that affects control of breathing * heavy smoking

Keywords: exercise echocardiography right ventricular function pulmonary hypertension hypoxia
carotid plaque-burden scale and outcomes. a real life study

Conditions: Atheroscleroses, Cerebral; Carotid Plaque

Summary: carotid ultrasonography has been proposed as a tool for prediction of future cardiovascular disease (cvd). nevertheless, its role in clinical practice remains controversial. methods: the investigators analyse the incidence of cvd and mortality in a cohort of 1004 participants without preexisting cvd according to a simple plaque scale recorded in different segments of the carotid artery assess by ultrasound. a prognostic tool for cv events was development adding carotid plaque-burden (cpb) scale to the systematic coronary risk evaluation (score2) table (cpb- score2 scale).

based in number of plaques and stenosis a simple plaque scale was recorded in different segments of carotid artery, involving a cohort of 1004 participants with vascular risk factors. outcomes were recorded during 14 years. a prognostic tool for cv events was development adding simple carotid plaque-burden (cpb) scale to the score2 table (cpb- score2 scale).

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * any of these vascular risk factors: total cholesterol \>200 mg/dl, hypertension, or diabetes, or receiving medication for them * no cardiovascular disease: coronary, cerebral o peripheral arterial disease. exclusion criteria: * associated conditions: cancer, heart failure, chronic obstructive disease, renal insufficiency, neurodegenerative diseases, rheumatic diseases or chronic infections. * neck anatomical barriers to perform ultrasound. * enrolled in a clinical trial. * attend \<70% of regular appointments

Keywords: carotid ultrasound. carotid plaque-burden atheroscleroses events prediction
pulse wave analysis and velocity in patients with chronic renal failure: a cross-sectional observational study to assess association with left ventricular hypertrophy, uremic toxins and inflammation.

Conditions: Arterial Stiffness; CHRONIC RENAL FAILURE; Left Ventricular Hypertrophy

Summary: the aims of the presented study are as follows: 1. to evaluate the endothelial function and arterial stiffness in a large cohort of prevalent ckd patients by means of non-invasive applantion tonometry. 2. to evaluate the association between the serum levels of the representatives of the various classes of uremic toxins and markers of endothelial function and arterial stiffness. 3. to evaluate the association between markers of inflammation and oxidative stress and markers of endothelial function and arterial stiffness. 4. to evaluate the association between echocardiographic parameters and markers of arterial stiffness


Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * age: 18-60 * chronic kidney disease: according to the k-doqi guidelines ( kidney damage ≥ three months, as defined by structural or functional abnormalities of the kidney, with or without decreased gfr, manifest by either: pathological abnormalities; or markers of kidney damage, including damage in the composition of blood or urine test, or abnormalities in imaging tests; gfr\< 60 ml/min/1.73m² for ≥ three months, with or without kidney damage) * written informed consent exclusion criteria: * major illnesses( life expectancy of \< 1 year) * history of atrial fibrillation * history of myocardial infarction, unstable angina, congestive heart failure, peripheral vascular diasease ,cerebrovascular disease, diabetes (nonechogenic)

Keywords: ckd,
a prospective virtual study of patient reported behaviors and health outcomes in individuals with covid-19

Conditions: SARS-CoV-2 Acute Respiratory Disease

Summary: the primary objective of this study is to identify and describe patient behaviors and clinical outcomes among patients who have tested positive for mild to moderate covid-19.

this virtual observational cohort study will describe patient behaviors and clinical outcomes of subjects who tested positive for covid-19. among those with positive tests, predictors of time to recovery, post-covid function and outcomes will be identified. individuals who test negative and positive for sars-cov-2 will be enrolled in the study.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * age \>=18 years * individuals with a valid diagnostic covid-19 test result exclusion criteria: - unable or unwilling to provide informed consent
development and pilot testing of the sense2quit app

Conditions: Smoking Cessation; HIV Infections

Summary: this is a pilot randomized controlled trial to examine the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of the sense2quit app in a sample of 60 plwh who smoke.

the estimated 40-70% of persons living with hiv (plwh) who smoke cigarettes experience substantial tobacco-related morbidity and mortality. for plwh, apart from achieving and maintaining a suppressed viral load, tobacco cessation is the most important health behavior they can undertake to maximize both quality of life and life expectancy. however, the currently available evidence for improving tobacco cessation among plwh is inadequate. few tobacco cessation interventions have been tested among plwh, and of those which have, there is 'very low' quality evidence that they were effective in the short-term and 'moderate' quality evidence indicating similar outcomes to controls in the long-term. thus, it is critical to develop evidence-based tobacco cessation interventions to address the complex and unique needs of plwh. in response to this need, the investigators propose to develop a mobile intervention for plwh who smoke building on sense2quit, a multi-component intervention that links a smartphone app to a smartwatch to provide real-time quit reminders to curtail relapses and avoid potential trigger. this real-time feedback is critical especially in the first few weeks of a quit attempt. the proposed sense2quit intervention for plwh who smoke cigarettes is a novel and evidence-driven intervention using mobile technology to improve tobacco cessation. this will be the first study to develop and pilot test an innovative tobacco cessation intervention for plwh. the final product of this study will be the basis for an r01 application to conduct a large-scale efficacy study for this population. the investigators are confident that the proposed intervention will be a high impact intervention for improving tobacco cessation among plwh and have long-term implications for overall improvement in the public's health.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * plwh confirmed through medical records or pill bottles for antiretroviral therapy (art)medications. * ≥ 18 years of age; * own an android smartphone; * understand and read english; * not pregnant or breastfeeding (due to contraindications for nicotine replacement therapy \[nrt\]); * permanent contact information; * smokes ≥5 cigarettes per day for the past 30 days; * interested in quitting smoking within 30 days; * blows ≥5 ppm eco into a breath analyzer at baseline. exclusion criteria: * use of tobacco products other than cigarettes (i.e. cigars, piped tobacco, chew, snuff) * planning to move within 3 months of enrollment; * positive history of a medical condition that precludes nicotine patch use; * current use of nrt or other smoking cessation medications (e.g., chantix or zyban); * current enrollment in another smoking cessation program. * alcohol dependence measured through the audit-c * a household member is also participating in the sense2quit study (due to study contamination).

Keywords: sense2quit tobacco use